IPL 2019 | We are losing because of poor fielding, says AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers has stated that his team Royal Challengers Bangalore have been losing match after match, mainly due to their poor fielding. He also claimed that the RCB has one of the most structured and disciplined set-up, but the numerous missed chances in the field have been letting them down.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have ended up eighth and sixth on the points table in the last two years respectively. And this year is not looking to have any different outcome, as the Virat Kohli-led side has lost all their six games until now, and naturally, are placed at the bottom of the table. AB de Villiers, who recently became the second highest run scorer for RCB, sounded extremely disappointed and has gone ahead to compare his team’s campaign so far, with the 1993 film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray.

"Has anybody seen an American comedy film called Groundhog Day? It stars the actor Bill Murray as a TV weatherman condemned to live through the same day over and over again. Even when he foresees things going wrong, he still can't escape disaster. It's an entertaining movie to watch. However, it's not so much fun to experience in real life. At RCB in the 2019 IPL, for some reason, we are being condemned to live through the same day over and over again; we have played six matches and lost six matches. How? Why?," wrote De Villiers, reported TOI.

The former South African captain has termed RCB’s behind the scene sessions and meeting of one the best standards stating that he felt this was a balanced team and will put up a fine performance in this year’s edition, but the result has again been completely contrasting. The Bengaluru-based franchise will require a miracle to qualify from the playoff here, as their net run rate of -1.453 is also the lowest among the other teams, and eight out eight wins from here will only take them to the playoffs.

"Our meetings are well planned and structured, among the best I have experienced. Our training sessions are tough and demanding, again among the best I have experienced. Our squad is talented and well balanced and, at the start of the tournament, I looked around and felt we had a strong chance to be competitive. Yet the IPL table does not lie, and we are stone last, needing to win each of our eight remaining pool matches to qualify for the playoffs. What is going wrong?" the 35-year-old wrote.

The Gary Kirsten-coached side has been extremely sloppy on the field and has been dropping crucial catches match after match. In Sunday’s match against Delhi Capitals, RCB posted a decently competitive total of 149 on a slow wicket. They started their bowling well with a wicket in the third ball of the innings but dropped Shreyas Iyer’s catch when he was at four, which was enough to make all the difference. That moment had summed up RCB’s campaign thus far, and De Villiers did not shy away from the fact.

"After our most recent defeat, at home to Delhi Capitals on Sunday, when we were unable to defend 149 on a slow wicket, I happened to sit next to Gary Kirsten on the bus, as we left the stadium and drove past thousands of our disappointed supporters. The head coach asked me what I was thinking. I replied: "More often than not, in cricket, you can assess the state of a team by the way they field. Each player is a batsman or a bowler, and it is understandable that their primary focus is on batting or bowling... but every player is also a fielder and, in my view, you need a collective hunger and desire to operate as a strong unit in the field,” he expressed.

Against Mumbai Indians, an umpiring error might have cost them a match, as they lost the match by 6 runs. In the encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders, they lost the match after scoring over 200, courtesy Tim Southee and Mohammed Siraj’s poor bowling, along with the usual culprit, fielding. The right-handed batsman rued the missed chances and remarked how small things could have made a huge difference.

"Maybe that's where we are failing. Our fielding in this tournament has been very poor, and we simply can't afford to be dropping multiple chances in every match. Of course, the margins are small. We might easily have beaten MI and KKR at home and, with another 20 runs on Sunday, we might have beaten DC at home as well. We could be sitting here with three wins from six matches, in contention. Instead, we must stay positive and stay together... and somehow find a way to get a win and to escape Groundhog Day," de Villiers concluded.